Sandshrew Line/RBY
On Route 3 and 4, Sandshrew has a 15% encounter rate in Yellow, as well as a 4% encounter rate on the first floor (initial floor) of Mt. Moon. In Blue, they are available where Ekans would be in Red, so on Routes 4 and 23 you have a 25% chance (and a 5% chance of Sandslash on Route 23), and on Route 11 you have a 45% chance of encountering one. The Sandshrew line has always been a popular choice in Nuzlockes due to a combination of good typing, defensive and offensive strength, and access to Dig and Slash right off the bat. It's especially useful against Lt. Surge, who isn't far from where you capture Sandshrew. Other than its low Speed and Special stats, the Sandshrew line will be a useful member to just about any team. Important Matchups - Yellow = * Rival (Cerulean City): Just spam Slash. Easy. * Gym #2 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Not a good idea, for obvious reasons. * Rival (S.S. Anne): Again, spam Slash and win. * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Beware of the Raichu's Mega Kick. If you're going to fight the Raichu, it is suggested to have Dig and a Sandslash. Sandshrew is alright, but crits will hurt it a lot. * Rival (Pokémon Tower): STAY CLEAR OF THE SHELLDER. That Shellder has Clamp, and you will surely die. Other than that, you guess it: spam Sla- actually, spam Dig instead. * Giovanni (Rocket Hideout, Ground-type): Sandslash's great defense and high-powered Dig will easily defeat the Rhyhorn and Onix. It's also good for taking down Persian. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Obviously a bad idea. Every one of Erika's Pokémon will probably win, one-on-one. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Everything has Psychic, and things aren't weak to Dig, so it's not a great match-up. It's just a bunch of bugs, so it's very likely you'll have something else. Still, Sandslash can defeat the three Venonat without problems, and attempt to take on Venomoth in a pinch. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Pretty good match-up, since the fighters have low defense. Dig will win over everything in there. * Rival (Silph Co.): Cloyster and Vaporeon are to be avoided. You should be fine switching into anything else, except maybe Kadabra's Confusion and Flareon's Fire Spin. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Sandslash can take down all of Giovanni's Pokémon rather easily. Nidoqueen's Body Slam is your worst problem, and it's weak to Dig. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): You can take out Sabrina's lead Abra, but be warned that you'll have to switch something into Kadabra and Alakazam, unless you want to spam X items on your Sandslash. X Accuracy comes first, to negate all of its Flashes. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): His Arcanine has Fire Blast, and that's scary. Also, avoid Ponyta and Rapidash's Fire Spin. In Yellow, all the Pokémon have strong Fire moves, but Dig should OHKO everything but Arcanine. Arcanine could be fatal at Level 54 with Fire Blast, so it's best to use something that resists it instead. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): Most of his Pokémon have Earthquake, which is significantly stronger than in Blue, but your main concern is Giovanni's lead, Dugtrio. It has Fissure, and it will be faster than Sandslash, so stay clear of that (pro-tip: this Dugtrio cannot hit Flying-types with any move other than Sand-Attack). The rest is perfectly manageable instead. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): You must beware of all Water-types (Cloyster and Vaporeon will OHKO). Exeggcute has Solarbeam and Kadabra has Psychic, so avoid switching into those. Stuff like Magneton, Jolteon, Magneton, Sandslash, and Ninetales are not equipped to harm a Ground-type, so switch in freely. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): There is no reason to try this. DO NOT TRY THIS. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Not a tough fight. Hitmonchan has Ice Punch, but its Special stat is even lower than Sandslash's. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): The Gengars now carry either Psychic or Mega Drain, so it's less easy for a Sandslash. Haunter is the same as in Blue. Golbat and Arbok are also different, but still have nothing to hurt Sandslash with, so defeat those with Rock Slide and Dig, respectively. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): Gyarados and Dragonite have Hydro Pump and Blizzard, respectively. Beware the Dragonairs, as one has Electric moves while the other one has Ice moves. They are the same level, but note that in RBY the trainers always send out Pokémon in the same order, so the first Dragonair has Electric moves and the second has Ice moves. Aerodactyl can't do anything but Hyper Beam, so you can try to fight against that. * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Magneton, Exeggutor, Ninetales, and Jolteon are good for Sandslash to KO. However, everything else only got stronger. Your rival's Sandslash now has Earthquake, which is always a dangerous move to go up against. Vaporeon and Flareon have strong special moves, with the former's being super-effective, so back out of those matchups. Cloyster and Alakazam are not to be fought, as both win one-on-one matchups. * Post-Game: No. Mewtwo is too strong for Sandslash's low Special. }} Moves Sandshrew learns Scratch and Defense Curl immediately, and then learns Sand Attack at Level 10. At Level 17, the only important move is learned, which is Slash. After that, Poison Sting, Swift, and Fury Swipes are learned (Levels 24, 31, and 38 for Sandshrew, and 27, 36, and 47 for Sandslash). None of those moves matter, though. Sandshrew and Sandslash have the same TM and HM accessability, which is Swords Dance, Toxic, Body Slam, Take Down, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, Rage, Earthquake, Fissure, Dig, Mimic, Double Team, Bide, Swift, Skull Bash, Rest, Rock Slide, Substitute, Cut, and Strength. Slash and Dig are strong enough alone to make Sandslash powerful, but if you're willing to give it the Swords Dance, Toxic, Earthquake, or Rock Slide TMs, then it can only get stronger. Dig has 100 power in this generation, and is available right after the Misty fight, so it is highly recommended to give it to Sandshrew. Slash is always going to be a critical hit, so it's useful to have for not only emergencies, but regular fights as well thanks to its relatively high PP. Rock Slide is very useful for taking down Flying-types, but it's a very valuable TM, and you may want to save it for something else. Toxic is useful for taking down physical attackers that can't break Sandslash's defenses. Swords Dance would be great for taking down entire teams, but Sandslash is slow and has low Special, meaning it would probably prefer to be switched out occasionally. Fissure could be cool, but it's very inaccurate, and Sandslash is slow. If you had all the TMs to spare, the best moveset would probably be Earthquake, Rock Slide, Slash, Toxic. Otherwise, Dig, Slash, Sand-Attack, and Cut would do. Recommended moveset: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Toxic, Slash Other Sandshrew's stats Sandslash's stats * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Immediately. Unless if you want Poison Sting, Swift, or Fury Swipes quicker (you don't), you should take the stat boost ASAP. * How good is the Sandshrew line in a Nuzlocke? Really good. This line sees its peak in this generation due to critical hit rates and Dig being so powerful. This line sees many good match-ups, and is useful for taking strong physical attacks. If you can't get Geodude or Rhyhorn, use this or Diglett. * Weaknesses: Water, Grass, Ice * Resistances: Rock, Poison * Immunities: Electric * Neutralities: Normal, Fire, Bug, Fighting, Psychic, Ground, Flying, Dragon, Ghost Category:Red/Blue/Yellow Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses